Too Few Doctors, or Too Many ?

For the best part of a year a friend has suffered from abdominal pains and intermittent vomiting. Two MRI scans having failed to enlighten hospital staff he was today on his way for a third scan when he had a severe attack of bloody vomiting. He rang his GP who advised him to go straight to Accident and Emergency, saying she'd ring ahead so they'd be ready for him.

On arrival he found the estimated waiting time was 14 hours, and after three hours he hadn't even seen the triage nurse, so he rang his GP again. After she rang the A & E Department he was seen by the triage nurse who diagnosed 'a bit of indigestion'. When he insisted on seeing a doctor he was allowed into a room where he found four doctors, none of them treating any patient, but instead discussing their adventures in the pub the night before. They eventually decided he was suffering from a burst ulcer, which ought to have been detected long ago, before it burst, by one of the MRI scans.

I wonder how far poor medical service is a deliberate attempt to fabricate a case for diverting more public money into the NHS.

Previous generosity having apparently produced little improvement, we should perhaps consider cuts instead.